Panda Security releases Mac app

Panda Security has announced Panda Antivirus for Mac. In doing so, the company must answer the same question faced by every other security vendor trying to sell in this market: Do Macs really need protecting?

After all, we still haven't seen any widespread outbreaks of Mac malware—even though it's just as technically feasible to attack the Mac as it is to target Windows. The question is: Will that change?

Not surprisingly, Panda says it will. The company claims to know of 5,000 strains of malware that specifically affect Apple systems. And it says that number will increase: The company predicts that when Mac market share hits 15% (it's now around 10%), Macs will be "massively targeted by hackers."

In the meantime, there are already cross-platform macro viruses, phishing scams, and scareware that can harm Macs as well as Windows PCs. And even if you or your Mac aren't specifically threatened, you can still act as a vector by unknowingly passing along malware targeting other platforms via e-mail.

Hence Panda Antivirus for Mac. The new app scans files and e-mail for known Mac, Windows, and Linux malware. It can also scan your iPhone, iPad, or iPod for such threats, if you connect them in disk mode.

Panda Antivirus for Macintosh is available now as a download; it costs $50 for a one-year license.